I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Is anyone else still singing Christmas songs? It was truly a joy to celebrate Christmas with family and our church here in Thailand. The most wonderful time of the year always goes by too fast.
Before we share some things going on here in Thailand, we just want to thank you for your faithful support in 2022. It really amazes me how many of you have partnered with us from the beginning (almost 10 years) until now. We are so thankful to God for you.
• Our Moms Came to Thailand — Meme and Nana came to Thailand! This was my mom’s first time coming (and she said last time after that long flight). Brittney’s mom has been a few times now, so she helped them navigate the journey around the world. The kids were so happy to have them to play with and show them around. They survived the humidity (yes, it’s hot here in December), the strange foods, no Dr. Pepper and the blank stares they got when talking to people in English. We were proud of them and glad they came to visit us.
• Pastor’s Conference — Dec. 10-12 we hosted our first Pastors Conference at North Bangkok Church. We had about 30 men attend that are pastors or interested in preaching. Jo did a great job in teaching them about expository preaching and the importance of the preacher’s life. We enjoyed being with those men and learning about their ministries around Thailand. Jo and I are talking about when and where we can host the next one.
At the end of the conference, we met with the men for an hour to get feedback since this was our first one to host. They also shared with us what they learned and took away from the days we spent together:
• “I learned the importance of not neglecting family.”
• “Not everyone should preach or is qualified.”
• “Want to improve my preaching, my outlines and living a holy life.”
• “The thing I got out of this training the most is God’s Word is the most interesting and best thing to serve my people.”
• “I’ve never preached but this has given me confidence to do it someday.”
• “Heart full and excited to emphasize God’s Word in preaching.”
• “Now I understand what expository preaching is.”
• “Importance of passion in preaching.”
• Rot — One of the men at the Pastors Conference was our intern, Rot (pronounced like “wrote”). He has been learning a lot and growing and it’s been a joy to watch. After the conference, he felt more ready and confident, so he preached his first sermon. We plan to go visit him in his village next month (about a 4-hour drive). He is still praying about possibly starting a church there. Pray with us for him. Thank you for supporting us so we can serve him.
• Meet Jay — He is a member of North Bangkok Church who has been considering the possibility of moving to his wife’s village to start a church in the future. He is praying about starting an internship/apprenticeship with us as well. Would you pray for him? He is thinking about starting in a month or two but is not sure yet. Jay often helps lead worship at North Bangkok and has been a faithful brother and friend for several years now. It would be a joy to study with him and serve alongside him.
• Homeschooling — I am so thankful Brittney is teaching our precious kiddos. We are also thankful for a helper that is teaching them Thai. I am proud of their hard work and not grumbling too much. Brittney and I often talk amongst ourselves and to the kids about how neat an opportunity they have to grow up here. Who knows what the Lord has planned for them.
• Pray — Pray for Brittney and me (Not a day goes by that we don’t think about baby Judah and miss him. Christmas was especially hard, but because of Christmas, we will see Him again.), pray for future Pastor Conferences and projects coming up and pray for Rot and Jay.
• Praise — Praise God that our moms got to come and spend time with us and for the ministry opportunities we have and for your support. (brandon.thaimissions@gmail.com)
